Sister Greim: a hometown hero | News

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Several people are being honored this month around Central Georgia for being a hometown hero. The Red Cross is recognizing people around the area who have made a significant impact on his or her community. One of them is Sister Elizabeth Greim.

Giving back is in Greim's nature. "You know sometimes you don't realize kind of the things you get involved in, and you just kind of keep going, and part of what sisters do is we try to find the needs of the community," said Greim.

She helped start a food pantry at Saint Peter Claver Church in Pleasant Hill. "The terms we would use is so eucharistic, you know, it's Jesus fed us, and continues to feed us so this particular ministry in our church helps to feed the community in a way that I think supports it. Obviously people need food but, they also need to know that their community cares about them," Greim.

Greim said within the past few years, more and more people came to the church looking for food. She said it's important that the items offered are nutritional. "That obviously people need to increase protein, to have meats if they can, to give people choice so it's more like a grocery store," he said.

Greim has been a nun for nearly 20 years and was instrumental in bringing Daybreak, a day center for the homeless, to Macon.

"Daybreak provides real practical things, showers, laundry, breakfast in the morning, computers, phones, but also most importantly relationships that help people who feel marginalized," said Greim.

Freddie Pearson says Greim means a lot to him. "She's an everyday hero for us," said Pearson. "She helped me get a job. I work here at Daybreak. She got me a house, furniture."

Mary Pangborn met Greim while volunteering at the day shelter. "She's just a blessing to the community," said Pangborn.

"I think that giving back isn't just about I make good money or I have a good life and so I have to give back something. I think it's really a matter of saying the blessings that I received or the benefits that I have are things that need to be shared," said Greim.

Greim tied with someone else in the good samaritan category and will be honored on Wednesday.